Tool boxes, totes, caddies and tool organizers are well known. More specifically, a number of tool holder designs have been proposed that attempt to take advantage of the ubiquitous five gallon plastic bucket as a tool organizer and caddy. Such designs comprise inserts that are received into a standard five gallon bucket (such as an empty dry wall compound bucket or paint container) and that include compartments for separating a variety of hand tools.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,243 to Deyesso et. al. discloses a tool holder insert adapted to engage the inner surface of the wall of a plastic bucket. The insert is annular in configuration and includes apertures and notches for holding tools in an upright position within the bucket. U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,332 to Mains discloses another annular ring insert for a standard five gallon bucket that allows for the upright storage of hand tools within the bucket. The Mains ring insert includes an outwardly and downwardly extending lip for engaging the upper rim of the bucket, whereas the Deyesso insert is held in place within the bucket by either a force fit between the ring and the inwardly tapered sides of the bucket, or with fasteners that extend through the bucket side wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,551 to Lindsay discloses a different approach to adapting a five gallon bucket into a tool holder. The Lindsay device comprises a tubular cloth panel which drapes and conforms over the inside and outside surfaces of a bucket, and includes inner pockets sewn on to the panel for receiving hand tools. Other alternative approaches are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,295 to Venegoni, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,026 to McKay. The Venegoni patent discloses a plurality of organizer trays stackable within a standard bucket. The McKay patent discloses an insert for a bucket that includes spring clips and a spiral spring tightly held against the inner side wall of the insert for holding tools in an upright position.
While the devices disclosed in the above noted patents provide different ways for converting standard five gallon buckets into tool holders, certain problems remain unaddressed by the prior designs. It will be appreciated that hand tools are of different lengths and sizes, and while some sizes of tools can be retained by the annular rings of the Deyesso and Mains devices, or the pockets of the Lindsay device, for instance, other sizes of tools, which would otherwise fit within a standard bucket, could not be readily retained within the prior art rings or pockets. Moreover, the prior art designs do not provide for maximum utilization of the given volume of a standard sized bucket, while maintaining ease of access to the tools carried within the bucket.